GSO general director Nguyen Thi Huong attributed the rise mainly to a surge in domestic rice prices. Rice prices jumped by 21.71 per cent annually during the quarter, raising the overall CPI by 0.55 percentage points.

Core inflation, excluding food, energy and health and education services, was stable, rising by 2.81 per cent annually in the first quarter, a domestic news agency reported.

CPI in March rose by 1.12 per cent compared to December last year, increased by 3.97 per cent YoY, but decreased by 0.23 per cent month on month (MoM).

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)